Create an upcycled urban garden

Last weekend we were at RHS Cardiff…dreaming of this glorious weather that is now upon us!
Despite the dreary weather we had a great time hosting a fun selection of upcycled garden workshops for visitors and helping people get inspired to be creative in their own gardens.

Our mini urban garden featured living lettuce chairs, saucepan succulents, re-purposed tyres and drawers, a birdcage and even my old leaky doc martens! Everything was made from unwanted items that were found or scavenged in the city! We were also lucky enough to have items created by members of Sew Cardiff, Cardiff Cross Stitchers and Twin Made including delicately decorated garden tools, pom pom flowers and t-shirt yarn plant hangers.

We want to share these ideas with you to use in your own gardens so take a peek below at our features in this mini video or scroll down for our top tips and ideas…

Chair planters
Everyone loved these at the RHS show. Just find yourself an unwanted chair, remove the seat and replace with chicken wire. We lined ours with moss and coconut coir before planting up with living lettuce and succulents. This might also make a great herb planter.

T-shirt yarn plant hangers
We enlisted the expert help of the super crafty Charlotte from Twin Made to teach us how to make these wonderful hanging planters from t-shirt yarn. She has plenty of creative workshops on offer from her colourful containers at The Boneyard in Canton and she loves to teach these clever macrame knots.

Tetra pak planters
One of our most popular workshops and so simple to do at home – just cut some windows in a cleaned out tetra pak, add some drainage holes and plant something that likes to trail. My favourites are Nasturtiums as you can add the edible flowers and leaves to a salad! These are perfect for brightening up boring fences and walls.

Tin cans plant pots
This idea is super simple and can be really effective with just a little bit of effort. We kept our old tin cans, popped some drainage holes in with a hammer and nail then painted with some left over outdoor paint. Top tip – use masking tape to create shapes and don’t paint the whole pot to keep that urban look.

Saucepan succulents
Another show favourite, our succulent saucepans were a hit! I have had these vintage saucepans for way too long and was cooking in them just a month ago but this seemed like the perfect excuse to re-purpose them. I just used a masonry drill to create holes in the bottom for drainage. I could have taken the handles off too but I actually like the effect.

Magazine flowers
Not strictly for your garden but these are for anyone whose fingers aren’t so green – everlasting flowers that you can’t kill! Made from just one page of an old magazine, a stick and some tape. Click here for instructions on Pinterest.

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